Walking Dead 1. Rick and Amy 1

**Hey guys! Here's the Rick/Amy chapter I promised. I was going to just add it to the main story of Defying Gravity but decided that because it's all about Rick and Amy, and Daryl and Molly are actually the main focus, it might be better to make it a one-shot. I might add to it with a series of other one shots if any come to mind later on in the story.**

**To Newcomers- This is a one-shot based off of my story Defying Gravity. It will not make sense unless you read that first. I would give some background but that would ruin the story for those who want to jump over to the main one. So go read Defying Gravity before you read this!**

**This takes place in chapter 18 of Defying Gravity; the first paragraph is taken directly from the chapter and continues on to some Rick/Amy alone time. It's been a while since most of us have read chapter 18 so you could go back and refresh yourself if you wanted to, but I don't think it's necessary.**

_Glenn had joined Carl and Louis with the puppy and T-Dog and Dale were trying to pull together some kind of meal. Unfortunately, most days everyone ate different things, or a bunch of things that didn't usually go together in a meal. Molly noticed Rick's absence and looked around for him in confusion. After a few minutes, she realized he was sitting on the roof of an SUV behind the RV, most likely watching for more herds so they weren't surprised again. Molly bit her lip and made a move to go to the struggling man but a hand on her upper arm stopped her._

"I'll go," Amy said quietly. "He and I have something in common I guess, with Andrea and Lori...it's not the same but I think we can still talk about it and maybe it will help him." She walked quietly over to the leader of their group and looked up at him where he sat on the SUV. "Mind if I come sit with you?"

Rick's eyes moved from their survey of the wreck to look down at her with something she assumed was surprise. "Sure, I guess. If you want to be seen with the likes of me," he replied disgustedly.

Amy clambered up onto the SUV so she could scoot onto the roof beside him before frowning and asking, "what's that supposed to mean? The likes of you?"

"Well I clearly can't do anything right can I? Carol and Miranda probably hate me for letting their girls get lost, and I couldn't even take care of my own wife! How can I be fit to lead you anywhere if I can't even take care of some children and my wife?" Amy could tell these thoughts had been weighing on him for a while, and they spewed from his mouth a bit hysterically.

"Alright, for one thing, children are a lot harder to take care of than adults, so that's a moot point. Also, no one blames you for what happened to Sophia and Eliza, if could have been any one of us that lost them in the woods. Miranda and Carol are just sad, that's all. As for Lori…" Amy paused, she knew that talking about Lori was hard for Rick; at least she assumed it was. "How could you have protected her from what happened? We were all in such a crazy rush to get away from Atlanta, and you had to make sure Carl got to safety. Besides, she was with Shane; you had, and still have, every reason to believe that he would take care of her. Nothing that's happened has been your fault. If we're playing the blame game then it's just as much Morales's fault the girls are lost, it's Daryl's fault Keegan's mom died, and we might as well blame me for not being with Andrea so we could protect each other."

The frown lines in Rick's forehead became even deeper as he listened to Amy talk. It was a while before he spoke again; clearly he was thinking over her words and trying to find some way to refute them. "Thanks Amy, I don't know if I believe you but it helps to know that you've got my back."

Amy smiled and pushed his shoulder with her own, "always. You and Daryl are keeping us all alive Rick, we should all be thankful to you, and I, for one, can never repay you for what you've done for us. I know that you would have gone after Lori if you didn't have all of us to think about," she whispered, looking down at her dirty, chipped nails instead of at him. She'd led a very sheltered life in Florida; her parents barely let her leave the house except for school. And when she'd finally convinced them to let her go to college in Atlanta they'd made it very clear that she was only there to learn. They refused to pay for her tuition if she became involved with boys, sports, or any sort of clubs. So she'd never really had a guy in her life to talk to besides her father, until her trip with Andrea, and sometimes she got a strange feeling in her stomach when she looked at or spoke to Rick.

Rick looked at her and then looked down at his lap. She didn't think he was going to say anything and was preparing to leave him alone when he spoke, "I went through so much to find them again, Lori and Carl, and now she's just... I don't know what to do Amy. I don't know how I should feel. She's with Shane, or she's dead. But either way she's not here with me and... what I'm feeling, it's not what I think I should be feeling."

Amy frowned, not quite understanding what he was saying. "What are you feeling Rick?"

Rick was silent again for a minute and then looked her straight in the eye, "I feel relieved. Isn't that terrible? That I'm relieved that my wife is missing? That she's not here with me?"

Eyebrows raised in surprise, Amy considered what to say. Finally she just said it, "well, why does it make you feel like that? What's different now than it was when you first woke up from your coma and tore off to find her?"

"Carl, I think, mostly Carl. I think he was the one I was really tearing off to find, and she just happened to be with him. You know, like because I was married to her I was obliged to find out if she was alive and safe. Lori and I had been having problems with our marriage for a long time before all this happened. I know that most of the group knows she and Shane were sleeping together at the quarry, but that all started a long time ago too. I shrugged it off because I didn't like confrontation and because I wanted us to work out, for Carl, but...when I got to the quarry and saw her and Carl I felt nothing for her. I wasn't happy to see her or relieved that she was okay. It was like she was a stranger that just happened to be the mother of my son, who I was overjoyed to find alive and happy."

"I'm so sorry Rick. If that's how you feel then why have you been acting like your heart's been ripped from your body?"

Rick shook his head, "I don't really know. I think my behavior has been a reflection of the idea of what's been lost, not what I've actually lost. Lori and I married almost right out of high school. I've spent more of my life with her than without her, so maybe the thought of being alone is what's freaked me out the most. Not to mention I'm an honorable man. It's part of who I am to do what's right even if Lori doesn't deserve my worry or concern. And then there's the effect it's having on Carl, that's what I'm really thinking about I suppose. He and Lori have never really been away from each other. School, sleepovers, and two, week long trips to his grandparents is as far from each other as they've been. I don't know how he's really feeling or how he's going to react to things now that we don't know where his mother is. I think that's part of why I've reacted like this, because I'm worried about how I'm going to raise him, keep him from inverting, and still lead all these people to somewhere safe."

Amy gave him a sad smile, "well you know, you aren't alone Rick. All of us will help with Carl, we'll help raise him and help him come to terms with what's happened. With all these people around to keep him the way he is, you don't have to put so much pressure on yourself." She paused for a little while and they both stared off into the darkness, listening to the insects. The roof of the car they were sitting on squeaked as Amy shifted and spoke again, "How long were Lori and Shane sleeping together?"

Rick gave a faint snort of derisive laughter. "Almost since the beginning. They did a good job hiding it really. I only knew because I knew them both so well. I don't think anyone else ever found out about it, that's how well they hid it."

"They didn't hide it very well at the quarry. I'm pretty sure that everyone else knew about them within the first few days."

"They thought I was dead, I suppose it's only normal that they decided they didn't need to hide anymore. Honestly, I'm not even mad that they didn't keep it a secret; I'm mostly mad that they didn't hide it or at least explain it to Carl. I'm lucky he hasn't asked about it yet, but I'm sure it's only a matter of time."

Amy reached over and took Rick's large, calloused hand in hers, rubbing the skin between his index finger and his thumb with her own thumb. She didn't look up at him at first, just focused on their hands, but when she did look up she realized that he'd been watching her the whole time. Her breath hitched slightly before she snapped out of it and was able to speak, "I'm sorry for what she did to you Rick, you're such a great guy. I can't imagine why she would choose Shane over someone like you. You and Carl will get along just fine without her, maybe better without her because you can be who you are, not who that crazy woman thought you should be."

Rick's blue eyes searched Amy's and he smiled as he gripped her hand in his, silently thanking her for her support. "Maybe you're right Amy; I guess we won't know until we try. Thanks for the talk. If you…" it was his turn to pause, thinking about Andrea and trying to decide if he wanted to get into that. Finally he finished, "if you ever want to talk about Andrea, or anything else for that matter, I'm here."

Amy smiled brightly at him despite the image of her sister that flashed in her mind. "Thanks Rick. I think we should head back for last minute instructions before everyone goes to bed," she said quietly.

Rick nodded, got to his feet on the hood of the SUV and proceeded to jump down onto the ground, slinging the rifle strap over his should so he could help Amy down. As his hands found purchase on her waist and her hands gripped his shoulders and he lowered her to the ground, she couldn't help that feeling in her stomach or the way her eyes refused to look away from his face. Her hands slowly slid down onto his chest and she could have sworn she felt his breath falter a bit and his fingers tighten against her sides. But then he was letting her go, almost as if she'd burned him, and she was brushing imaginary dust off her pants and smoothing her shirt and whatever had just happened between them was gone. Rick motioned for her to walk ahead of him and the two walked back into the light of the camp circle without looking at each other again.

**So their conversation that focuses on Lori and how Rick feels relieved was actually supposed to take place with Molly when she first confronts him after Lori and Shane get separated. I saved it for later but it wasn't until very recently that I even decided to use Amy instead of Molly in the conversation. I hope it was okay. I've made Amy pretty naïve for the purposes of this story and it's not that strange that she'd have no experience with guys, at least in my opinion. Not a lot happened physically but I do think it gives a good idea of how things progressed later in the story when they're all reunited.**

**Sorry for any spelling/grammar mistakes. I'd really, really appreciate feedback for this because I've never done a one-shot before and just the content was a little out of my element I think. Any comments on Rick's thoughts or feelings are welcome. I didn't want to go into why he reacted/felt that way in my notes but I'd be happy to elaborate in a private message if need be. Let me know what you think!**


	2. Daryl and April 1

**Here's another one-shot! If you've come over from Defying Gravity, then you'll know almost right away that this is a Daryl/April one-shot because you got to see so little of April in Defying Gravity. I hope you like it, it was a little awkward to write but I hope I did alright. **

**If you haven't read Defying Gravity and just happened to find this story, this chapter will make sense but you really should read DG so you understand why I even wrote this.**

**Thank you to everyone who read and to those who followed and especially to my reviewers! If there's a certain one-shot you'd like to see (that follows the plot of Defying Gravity) don't hesitate to ask, I'll try to accommodate.**

**I forgot the disclaimer on the first chapter, so I'll post it here but I won't post it again, since the fact that I don't own the Walking Dead will not change.**

**Disclaimer: I do not now, nor will I ever, own The Walking Dead comic or TV show and do not make any profit from this story. This is purely for entertainment purposes, no copy-right infringement intended****.**

_**BLAME IT ON THE ALCOHOL**_

Daryl pushed open the door and moved out of the way so that the blonde behind him could get inside. Rain hadn't been in the forecast but everyone knew weathermen were wrong more often than they were right so he wasn't at all surprised by the downpour that had started on the ride over. Once he'd pushed the door shut behind them both he shook his head like a dog and smirked when the blonde squealed and tried to shield herself from the water flying around.

"Daryl! You ass!" she said with a laugh, wiping her face and pulling off her sodden jacket, hanging it on a peg to dry before following Daryl further into the room. Noise attacked them from all sides, loud rock music blared from a jukebox in the corner, the bartender and doorman were in an argument with a patron near the bar, and a table at the other end of the bar was full of college-age girls squealing about something that was, without a doubt, stupid and irrelevant to all human life.

He'd expected the bar to be busier than it was, considering it was a Saturday night, but he was grateful for the lack of activity because they were able to get two stools right at the bar. The tender, Josh, finally finished his argument with the drunk man and was more than happy to grab drinks for his two regulars.

"You know how it goes," Daryl said, pulling the shot glasses closer to them. "Gotta do as many shots as your age. You've graduated to twenty-four, happy birthday small fry!" He tipped his head a little as they raised their glasses in toast to her birthday before downing the shots quickly.

"Josh!" April yelled, "got a pen or something?" The harried bartender look around quickly before tossing a spare pen onto the bar in front of her. "It might be twenty-four for me now, but I've always been able to hold my liquor, and I bet I can drink you under the table!" As she spoke she make a straight line perpendicularly across her wrist. It was the first of many shot tallies for the night if she had anything to say about it, and then copied the line on Daryl's wrist.

"No way you can outdrink me," he replied dismissively, waving his finger to get Josh's attention and more drinks.

An hour later, Daryl had accumulated fifteen tally lines on his arm compared to April's twelve. He could tell the alcohol was already taking its toll on her but he could also tell that she was trying valiantly to catch up to him.

"Remember when my parents took that trip to New Orleans and you and I drank all the alcohol in the house?" April reminisced, giggling. "Remember how sick we got?"

Daryl threw back another shot and laughed, "we were fourteen, had never drunk so much in our lives. If I remember right, you'd only ever had two beers before that night."

The night in question had been one of their worst ideas ever. They'd been watching one of the old soaps, about the only station April's TV could get in, and Daryl had gotten bored almost right away. It hadn't taken him long to come up with the bright idea that it would be much more fun to drink all the alcohol April's parents had in the house. He'd underestimated how much liquor two drunks could have accumulated in one place though and by the time they'd gotten to the last bottle of Jack Daniels, April had been throwing up and was almost comatose on the kitchen floor and Daryl was weaving back and forth, trying desperately to keep the alcohol from spewing from his mouth all over the sofa in the living room.

April smiled at the memory of their first drunk experience and leaned her head against Daryl for a minute. She'd just accidently closed her eyes when Daryl grabbed her shoulder and shook her hard.

"Hey now, none of that! You still got ten shots to do!" he admonished, helping the process along by pushing her shot glass into her hand.

"Hey little brother, what gives? You told me you didn't wanna go to the bar tonight," came a gruff heavily accented voice from behind Daryl. The hunter couldn't help the flight flinch that swept through him when he realized that Merle had come out tonight too.

"No, I said I didn't wanna go to the bar with you," Daryl growled back. "I had plans already."

Merle walked around to April's unoccupied side and dragged his gaze over the both of them before sneering back, "clearly."

"It's April's birthday dumbass," Daryl replied with a glare. "I don't gotta spend my whole life with your smelly ass. Besides, weren't you meetin up with Roger and Dude? Go fuck off with them and leave us alone."

A scratchy laugh escaped Merle's lips, "you always get like this when this little bitch is around. Gotta act all big like you got some balls so she don't realize you're a piece of shit that's not worth her time. Give up little brother, she's gonna realize it soon enough, without any help from me." The older, larger man extended his hand and pushed over April's full shot glass with his finger.

The strong smelling liquor splashed off the bar and onto April's top. It hadn't been a lot, just a shot's worth of liquid but it was enough to make her gasp loudly and try frantically to wipe it off. Daryl didn't know shit about girls clothes but from the way she was rambling to herself he was getting the impression that she was worried it might not come out of the fabric. He heaved a sigh, downed the last shot in front of him and got to his feet.

"Come on April, let's get you home so you can wash that shirt. Don't want it ruined do ya?" he said, pulling her to her feet by her elbow.

"But we're not done celebrating!" she exclaimed unhappily. "I still have nine shots to drink! It's tradition!"

Daryl sighed again, threw his head back and silently prayed for someone to give him patience. "Fine, but you're gonna have to slam 'em, you been drinkin too slow and those stains will set in if you don't hurry your ass up."

April gestured to Josh and ordered the nine shots she still needed to do and had him bring the five that Daryl needed as well. He'd already finished those five by the time April was down to her last three and she was definitely struggling now. When she finally drank down the last one, he took her shoulders and walked her toward the door. He'd pushed her out the door before remembering she'd left her jacket inside so he ran back in to get it. When he came out she was slumped over the back of his truck and he cringed at the thought that she might have thrown up back there.

"Come on Ape, let's get you home so you can wash that shirt," he said, helping her around to the passenger side and boosting her up into the seat. She almost fell and smashed her head against the open door twice, the continuing rain mixed with her inebriated state was not a good combination in the least.

"Daryl," she said when they were halfway back to her trailer. "Why's Merle such an asshole? Why doesn't he like me?"

The redneck wasn't sure how to answer the clearly hammered girl, his thoughts kept jumbling together and he was having a hard time making sense of them. Clearly he was more intoxicated than he'd thought. Finally he spoke, "always been that way. Takes after Pop I think, he was a right asshole too, didn't care bout nothing but himself. Treated women like shit. Don't know why he doesn't like you personally, never cares when I bring a girl home for the night. Might be he knows you matter to me, my best friend and all. He's the only one that ever had a part in my life after Ma died, could be jealous that you get my attention too."

When the blonde beside him didn't reply he assumed she'd passed out from the alcohol, so he jumped when she spoke suddenly, "he's stupid, and mean, and I don't like him. But he's your brother, and you're my best friend, I guess we should start trying to get along."

If there was one thing Daryl knew, it was that Merle Dixon did not placate anyone except himself. If he didn't want to get along with April he never would, even if doing so would make Daryl's life easier. There were very few people that Merle got along with, even fewer that he actually liked, and Daryl wasn't delusional enough to believe that April would ever be one of those people. He was still thinking about this when they pulled up to her trailer.

She was already out and to her door by the time Daryl made it around the truck to help her. It had begun to pour and water dripped into Daryl's face as he waited for April to get the front door open. Clearly unlocking a door was a difficult task for a drunk girl because it took at least five minutes and they were both soaked when she pushed the door inward.

Daryl stumbled over the threshold and turned to close the door behind him. He heard a squelching sound behind him and twisted back around to see April's shirt on the floor and her in the process of undoing her pants.

"Whatchu doin?" he asked blankly, unable to comprehend that he shouldn't be watching her.

"My clothes are all wet Daryl," she said decisively. "I hate wet clothes. Really, you should take off your clothes too, I bet you're cold and your jeans will start to chaff that wonderful behind of yours," she teased as she bent down to pull her socks off with her pooled up jeans.

Daryl was still standing in place, his eyes never leaving April but his mind whirling, too many thoughts spinning around for him to make any sense of what he should do. His blonde best friend took the decision from him though. With practiced hands and a smile on her face she pulled his sleeveless button-up over his head to join her shirt and pants on the floor. Her hands travelled down to his belt and jeans button while her eyes focused on his. He could see tiny rain droplets that had stuck to her eyelashes and he found them oddly mesmerizing as she continued to strip him of his pants.

She was about to take a step back from his almost naked body when his arm shot out and circled around her bare waist. Before either of them could really comprehend what was happening Daryl's lips were on hers and she was wrapping her arms tightly around his neck and letting her fingers pull tightly on his hair. Within seconds he'd lifted her up without taking his lips from her mouth or neck or wherever they were finding skin to kiss and he was carrying her to her bedroom.

_The Next Morning:_

Sunlight pierced through Daryl's closed eyelids and he frowned, shifting his head in vain to escape the blinding light that even now was hurting his head. Finally giving up on getting anymore sleep, he opened his eyes slowly and groaned when the room tilted. He slowly turned onto his back and felt something warm against his hand.

"Ugh, where the fuck am I?" he moaned, staring up at the ceiling that wasn't his own. His stomach was queasy, his hangover fierce, and he didn't want to move even his eyes to see if there were any clues as to where he could be. The warm something shifted against his hand and it took a second for him to realize that it was another person, he must have picked someone up last night after he and April partied.

Whoever it was let out a whimper, he assumed she was just as hung over as he was and had just realized her unfortunate state. He realized that he'd been touching her wrist when her arm moved and her fingers brushed over his own, up his arm and came to rest where his shoulder met his neck. After a few minutes he decided that he might be able to look around a little without getting sick, so he turned his head to the right and saw a typical girl's room, although there was something unexplainably familiar about this room in particular. He assumed he'd been with this girl before and that was why he recognized it, but when he heard the girl gasp and turned to look into the face of his horrified best friend he realized his assumption could not have been further from the truth.

"Daryl!" April whispered, gathering the bed sheet around her chest and sitting up, her long blond hair rolling over her shoulders and into her face in a messy wave. "What are you doing here?"

**I didn't want to go into a big thing with them arguing or freaking out about sleeping together, and I thought that'd be a fun place to leave this chapter. If it wasn't clear, this is THE moment when Keegan is conceived. I struggled finding a good way to get them into such a situation and I'm still not sure if I did it the way I wanted to, but it's out there now and hopefully it will be fine. The next one-shot will not continue this chapter, most likely it will not even be about Daryl and April.**

**As I said above, if you have a one-shot you'd like to see (i.e. Shane and Lori? Molly and Aaron? Molly and Finn or her parents? More Daryl and April? Anything else?) just let me know and I'll try to get it done. It has to follow the Defying Gravity story though. I'm not going to write something that contradicts my ongoing story. For example, I won't write a chapter that pairs Molly and Rick when it's clear from DG that Molly and Daryl are involved. I also won't write a chapter in which characters do something in a place they aren't present. SPOILER- There can't be a chapter with Lori and/or Shane at the farm because in DG neither of them are at the farm…stuff like that. **

**Alright, I'm done rambling, sorry! Please review, I've come to find that one-shots are not my forte so I'd appreciate knowing if you thought I was doing a good job with them!**


	3. Molly and Aaron 1

**It took me literally all day to write this…I was really struggling with it and I'm still not very happy with it. I got some time frames mixed up and I think I fixed them in this chapter but I'm sorry if I didn't do it well enough! This isn't as detailed as it could have been but I wanted to get to the point I got to at the end and with a detailed one shot it would have been super long…hope it's okay the way it is.**

**To Defying Gravity Readers, I hope to have the next chapter for that up tomorrow or Tuesday!**

**Disclaimer: I do not now, nor will I ever, own The Walking Dead comic or TV show and do not make any profit from this story. This is purely for entertainment purposes, no copy-right infringement intended****.**

_**MOLLY AND AARON**_

Molly felt completely frazzled, a feeling she had never truly experienced before. Life with a scientist and a highly educated housewife meant she'd learned early on the magical ways to stay calm. This, however, was unlike any situation she'd been in before. In a stroke of childish need for independence she'd decided to go to her college orientation weekend all by herself, even though she had never set foot on the campus before and knew next to nothing about what she needed to do to get ready. The campus map she'd been given at the college entrance was rippling noisily in her hands as she searched for the building she needed to go to for class sign up. The community college she'd gone to for her gen. eds was nothing compared to this place. Even as a third year student this place was too big for her to maneuver the way she had at the CC.

Her finger followed the route she was on but it didn't help much considering she'd never learned the name of the building. As she wandered down one of the paved paths through 'the Quad' as labeled on the map, her eyes stayed trained on the paper in her hand. Suddenly, she felt herself falling backward as a hard object ran right into her. She'd stumbled back a few steps and was caught just as she started to topple over.

"Whoa there, sorry about that, I thought you saw me," a masculine voice said near her ear. Her eyes, which had been closed as she braced for impact with the ground, snapped open and focused on the face looking back at her apologetically.

"It's alright, it was my fault, I should have been paying attention to what I was doing," she said breathlessly. Once the man had let go of her and stepped back, she bent down to collect the map that she'd dropped in the collision.

"You seem a little lost," the man said with a teasing smile, "can I help you? I'm a senior so I know my way around. What are you looking for?"

"Oh, I'm, I'm looking for the class sign up building. I never learned the name of it so I can't find it on the map. I'd appreciate the help if I'm not keeping you from anything," Molly replied with a hopeful smile in return.

"Nope, not busy, I actually just finished registering for classes and was on my way home to unpack. Helping you sounds much more appealing. Come on, I'll show you the way."

"Oh thank you! I'm Molly by the way, Molly Sinclair." She held her hand out as they began walking and felt her hand get warm when he took it to shake.

"Aaron, Aaron Samuels. What's your major Molly Sinclair?" he asked as they wandered down the path.

"Teaching, emphasis in History. You?"

"Business, my parents own and operate Samuels Law Firm, naturally I'll be taking over the business but I decided that I needed an education in running something as big as a company like that so here I am. And here we are," he said as they stopped at the door to a large brick building. "I'll wait for you out here, in case you need help with finding anything else. Go ahead, I'll be here."

Four days later was the first day of her Modern Impact of Ancient Cultures class. It was the most exciting class on her schedule this semester and she was really looking forward to it. She picked a seat in the second row and set her bag on the ground beside her feet before pulling out a pen and notebook. She'd had a few classes already in the week and had learned quickly that notes were going to be her new best friends.

"Hey!" a voice said nearby, calling her attention even though she didn't know who was calling out or who they were calling. Surprise must have been evident on her face when she looked up to see Aaron sitting a couple seats away from her. She'd had no idea they shared a class but it came as a pleasant surprise.

"Hi Aaron, what a surprise!" she said cheerfully. He opened his mouth to reply but the door slamming shut drew everyone's eyes to the front of the class where a rather severe looking professor was marching to the whiteboard.

"I am Professor Hatfield and this is Modern Impact of Ancient Cultures. Over the next sixteen weeks we will be delving into the practices and ways of life that made ancient societies thrive and that have influenced our modern civilizations. This is an intense, difficult class for average students, and the likelihood of even half of you passing is slim. Read over your syllabus for test and quiz dates as well as assignment due dates. There will be no reminders of upcoming deadlines for work or tests so vigilance will be required. Because this is the first class I will give you some advice: begin the studying process now to prepare for the tests. The first one is class next week, so prepare accordingly."

Molly almost gaped at the woman talking. Her no-nonsense speech as well as the efficient way she passed out the class material was the most intimidating thing Molly'd encountered in her life. She was already feeling overwhelmed and the class had literally just started. A glance to the side showed that Aaron was not surprised by the professor's expectations and as he looked at her and winked, she wondered if he'd taken a class with her before.

The class flew by to Molly, who felt like she was on autopilot the whole time. She did her best to keep up with notes but Professor Hatfield spoke much more quickly than she could write and never really paused long enough for the students to catch up. By the time Hatfield dismissed them, her hand was cramping and her eyes felt strained from trying to follow all the stuff written and then erased from the whiteboard before she could finish writing them down. Community college had been a breeze compared to all of this.

"Pretty intense huh? Hatfield can be a bit of a hard ass but the material you learn is worth the trouble. It might seem hard at first but if you just focus on the information instead of focusing on getting it all written down you'll find it much easier to remember stuff and enjoy the class more." Aaron had come over as she packed her bag up and had now taken it from her and slung it over his shoulder as they walked from the classroom.

"What makes you think I didn't enjoy it?" Molly demanded, but the smile on her face neutralized any harshness in her tone.

"You seemed completely out of your element," he replied. "Not that I know you well enough to know your element, but you seemed way too tense, not to mention you were frantically trying to get every single word she said down on paper. Do you even remember what she said without looking at your notebook?" he asked. They had wandered out of the lecture hall and onto the Quad by now and Molly felt her eyes sting as they stepped from the shade of the trees and into the sun.

Molly didn't respond to his accusations because there was nothing she could say. She didn't remember anything she'd said after her horrifying opening speech. "I'm going to die, I'm positive this college is going to kill me," she said in defeat.

Aaron laughed and shifted her bag on his shoulder. "You'll be fine, you seem like a smart girl, and I'm sure you're responsible and sensible enough to prioritize your studying time. I do have a proposition too though. You want to study together? You know, meet in the library or something every couple days? I've learned it's easier to study for her classes with at least one other person. What do you say?" he asked.

A squirrel scampered across the path in front of them and paused at the bottom of a tree to watch them walk closer. Molly smiled at the tiny creature and watched it turn in a flash and climb up the tree before she answered Aaron's question.

"This isn't some ploy to get me alone and, I don't know, chop me into pieces is it?" she asked, letting the humor show in her voice but she really did want to know if he was dangerous. Every TV show she'd ever seen said that most serial killers seemed like completely normal people, and Aaron was as normal a person as she'd ever met.

A laugh perforated the air as he broke down beside her. "Haha, no. No chopping I promise. I just…you intrigue me Molly. I really want to get to know you, and we both need to study. It's win win for both of us."

The earnestness in his voice won her over immediately despite any misgivings she should have had. "Alright, do you want to get together tomorrow? I need all the studying I can get in before that test next week." They'd made it to the parking lot and come to a stop beside a very nice newer model Ford that Molly assumed belonged to Aaron.

"I'm free from eleven until three tomorrow," he replied, opening the back door of the car and tossing his bag inside. Once he'd closed the door again and carefully handed over her own bag full of textbooks into her hands.

"So meet at the library at eleven?" she asked. When Aaron nodded confirmation, she smiled and shouldered the bag before giving him a little wave. "Well, see you later then."

3 Months Later

Molly examined herself in the mirror. Her hair was partially pulled up in a half pony and her curling iron had made it cascade in a curly mass down her back. Subtle blue eye shadow made her brown eyes seem brighter, especially combined with the sapphire blue cocktail dress she was wearing.

A knock from downstairs brought her out of her examination and she grabbed her clutch and headed for the steps. She was halfway down when she looked up and saw Aaron in a black suit waiting at the bottom with her mom.

"Hey," she said softly with a smile.

"Wow, you look beautiful," he replied, sounding so in awe that she wondered if she should be insulted.

"Thank you, you look pretty snazzy yourself," she teased.

"Where are you two going again? I'm sure Molly told me but I seem to have forgotten," Margaret asked, her camera in hand and ready to snap a picture of the two of them.

"My parents are big supporters of that new teen help place across town," Aaron started, taking Molly's hand and helping her down the last few steps. "They throw this benefit every year. There's a catered dinner, an orchestra, raffles. It's a big deal."

"Really? Huh, I've never even heard of it before. William and I are very well connected with Atlanta's upper class," Molly's mother offered, making Molly cringe internally.

Aaron glanced down at Molly, who shrugged as subtly as she could. "Well, I'm not sure why you weren't sent any invitation. Maybe my parents' planner forgot you? They're so busy with all the planning that they have to hire someone to do the mailing and other simple things like that. I will speak to her about it and find out what happened, alright?" he asked.

Molly bit her lip and looked away. Sometimes she thought that Aaron acted a little too pompous and arrogant. The way he always brought up how successful his parents were, how he sometimes seemed to be looking down on her parents even though her father was a renowned scientist working for the government, talked about how his parents had to hire other people to do simple jobs because they were _so_ busy. Despite this character flaw, she thought Aaron was the best thing that had ever happened to her. She just felt lucky that her parents didn't spend enough time with him to realize exactly how condescending and arrogant he could be.

"Hey mom, we need to get going, so could we just take some pictures and head out?" she asked, throwing herself right in the middle of whatever conversation the two were having.

"Oh, right, of course honey!" Margaret replied with a heartfelt smile and a gesture for her and Aaron to get into a nice pose.

Aaron's parents were waiting for them at the banquet hall and both welcomed Molly eagerly. She'd met them enough times to know that Aaron got both his good and his bad qualities from both of his parents. But they always treated her kindly, Molly felt sure that they approved of the relationship that had developed between them.

"Molly, you look wonderful," Aaron's mom said as she hugged the younger girl tightly.

"Thank you Mrs. Samuels, you look great too," she offered with a smile in return.

"Okay, Aaron, Molly, we'd like you to be at the front door greeting people as they arrive, we will be over near the sign in and donation table to greet them again," his dad said shortly. It was odd, sometimes, looking at this older man, because Molly could tell that Aaron was almost an exact replica of his father.

He didn't even give them a chance to respond before he was leading his wife away to the aforementioned table. Soon, Molly and Aaron were swamped with people coming up the steps to the building. She did her best to greet them all as friendly as possible, but she'd never had to pretend to be so happy for so long and it began to weigh on her. Everyone that came up was smiling and wanted to talk her ear off and her feet were beginning to ache from the heels.

The crowd had started to slow a little and she turned to go inside to find the bathroom. Aaron stopped her and kissed her cheek before giving her some brief directions to find the bathroom. There was no line of women waiting to go to the bathroom, which was lucky, but she knew it wouldn't be that way for long so she prayed she didn't have to go again that evening.

The doors to the banquet hall were closed now, so she assumed that the event was going to be starting soon but she had no idea where Aaron was now. His parents were up on the stage now, standing in front of the orchestra but she'd never learned where they would be sitting for the event. She assumed their table would be near the front but she hadn't seen Aaron's distinctive hairdo or his charming face anywhere at the front of the room.

"Molly! Hey, I didn't know you were going to be here." She looked around quickly to see one of her and Aaron's friends from school. He had been Aaron's friend first, they'd been in most of their freshman first semester classes together, but now he was just as much her friend as his.

"Hi Leon, I didn't know you would be here either. Aaron brought me, you know, since we're dating and all," she teased. Leon was a rather shy blonde haired man, slightly built and majoring in engineering. "Speaking of, have you seen him anywhere?"

Molly could tell that the question made him uncomfortable when he started picking at his fingernails. It was one of his ''tells', it meant he was trying to figure out a way to get around the question.

"Oh, um, I saw him, he was headed to the bar a few minutes ago. You might find him there."

"Alright, thanks Leon," Molly said, giving her friend a kiss on the cheek before heading for the little bar Aaron's parents had set up.

She'd made it halfway there when she saw him. He was sitting at the bar with another brunette and at first Molly was suspicious of his actions, but then the look on his face registered and she involuntarily took a step back. He was glaring at her with more anger than she'd ever seen from him and she tried frantically to think of what she'd done to make him mad.

He got up and left the other woman without a word and marched toward her, still glaring at whatever she'd done. He grabbed her arm and pulled her into an adjoining room that Molly wasn't sure they should even be in. Once he'd snapped the door shut behind them, he turned to her and tightened his grip on her arm. "What the hell was that Molly? You and Leon have something going on behind my back? Did you think you could hide it from me?"

Molly tugged on her arm, trying to pull it from Aaron's grip but he just held on tighter. "I don't know what you're talking about Aaron, we weren't doing anything! He was telling me where you were because I couldn't find you! Do you really think I would do that to you? That Leon would do that to you?" Tears were gathering in her eyes now, his grip was definitely going to leave bruises on her arm. "Aaron! Let go of me!" she pleaded, finally wrenching her arm from him and cradling it against her.

"There's nothing between you two?" he demanded, still glaring at her.

She shook her head but didn't speak. The tears in her eyes finally spilled over and started trailing down her cheeks and she knew her face was going to be a mess. "I would never do that to you Aaron, I love you," she whispered. It was the first time either of them had said the words. They'd made a promise when they first started dating that they wouldn't say those three words until each of them was sure of their feelings. They wouldn't let them become just another thing they said to each other like pet names.

The words seemed to bring him back to himself though, and the glare melted from his face to be replaced by an apology. He reached for her again, slowly, and it took everything in her not to flinch away. His hand was gentle this time as it came up to cup her cheek, forcing her to look up into his eyes. "I'm sorry Mol, you know I can be jealous. Leon is a good friend, and he wouldn't do that to me, I just…I get irrational when I think you might leave me for another guy." His voice was as soft as his touch now and she felt her indignation melting away.

"I know," she replied, "you're so insecure," she teased and a teary laugh.

"I promise I'll try to work on it," he vowed. "And I will never hurt you again." He ran his hand down to where bruises were already forming on her bicep. She nodded, trying not to let her smile waver. "Molly, this is going to seem really sudden but, I love you and want you to move in with me. You're the best thing that's ever come into my life and I can't imagine living another second without you. What do you say?" he asked when she hesitated.

"I…I…" she was completely shocked. They'd never really talked about moving in together, they'd only known each other for three months. "Yes Aaron, I will move in with you, nothing would make me happier," she said finally.

Aaron grinned and wrapped his arms around her before lifting her off the ground and twirling her around. She laughed and moved her head down to kiss him. His lips attacked her hungrily and she moaned against him. Suddenly, she felt her back hit the wall as he pressed her against it. Without thinking about the room full of people next door, she wrapped her legs around his waist and started pulling off his suit jacket and working the buttons of his dress shirt out of the holes. His hands worked on getting the zipper at the back of her dress down. As the loud sounds of the orchestra began to filter through the wall, Molly thanked her lucky stars because she had a feeling they would need something to drown out any noise they might end up making.

Three Weeks Later

Molly slipped out of bed as quickly as possible and sprinted for the bathroom. She'd been feeling sick for two days now but she always felt a little better by the afternoon. A trip to the doctor would be required soon if she didn't start to feel better, but for now she would just have to deal with it. She and Aaron had yet another 'mini-test' in Modern Impact today and there was no way she could miss it.

A creaking sound by the door drew her attention out of the toilet bowl and to Aaron's concerned face looking down at her. "Are you alright? This is day three of this illness, and it doesn't seem like it's going away," he said as he sank down to his knees beside her to rub her back.

She shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know what's wrong. I'm not really prone to getting sick…"

"I think we should go to the doctor after class today, we can't have you getting even worse."

Molly nodded and took his hand to help her up before heading to the sink to brush her teeth and wash her mouth out. It took her a while to get ready to go but eventually they were out the door and Aaron doted on her the whole way to class, carrying her bag, making sure she was comfortable in her seat, asking if she needed anything.

She went through the test as quickly as possible and sat there waiting for everyone else to finish. The purpose of these mini-tests was to get a test grade in and still have time afterward to get some learning in.

By the time they were dismissed, all Molly wanted to do was curl up in bed and sleep, but she knew she needed to go to the doctor. Just as they made it to Aaron's car his phone rang. He set their bags in the backseat and opened her door all while carrying on a conversation with who she assumed was his mother.

"Molly, I'm sorry babe, but my parents need me right away. I can drop you at the doctor and pick you up when I'm done, but I won't be able to stay with you," he apologized once they were both in the car.

Molly sighed and set her head back against the headrest. "Fine," she said softly. Sometimes she hated how much control his parents had over him, but she wasn't confident enough in their relationship to bring it up.

When he finally came to pick her up after the appointment, she bit her lip, unsure when or how to tell him what she knew he needed to know. He asked her once on the way home if she'd found out what was wrong, but she avoided the question by pretending to be asleep beside him.

"What's wrong Molly?" he asked once they were inside their penthouse apartment (courtesy of his parents) and settled on the couch together.

"Aaron…I need to tell you something really important, I'm just….unsure how to say it," Molly answered, her uncertainty plain in her voice.

"Molly, you're really worrying me, is it…cancer? Or something like that?" he asked.

"No," she said, her lip quivering with emotion. "Aaron, I'm pregnant."

It took him five whole minutes to respond to her words, but she was completely unprepared for his reaction. He jumped off the couch, practically shoving her away from him in the process and began pacing back and forth. Suddenly he turned to her, "how could you do this to me you little bitch?! Do you have any idea how something like this could destroy my life?"

Molly gaped at him, "Aaron!" she said indignantly. "I don't understand! Why are you acting this way?"

"I can't have a baby! I have my whole life ahead of me! Years of partying, grad school, a career, I won't let you drag me down with a kid, I won't." He paced a few more times and refused to look at her or the tears falling from her eyes. "You need to leave. Right now, and don't come back. I'll have your stuff packed and sent to your mother's house tomorrow."

A gasp was Molly's only response at first, she was so shocked that no other sound came out or formed into words. She jumped when he threw a lamp across the room and stumbled to her feet when he turned his eyes on her. She whimpered before heading for their room to grab her necessities and went to the door.

When she paused in the doorway, Aaron picked up the controller to his PS3 and threw it at the wall beside her with a shout of rage. "Get out!" he screamed.

Molly let out a sob and ran from the room, pulling the door shut behind her and fleeing down the hallway. She stumbled down the stairs, unwilling to wait for the elevator to take her to the parking lot. Tears clouded her vision and it took her several minutes, standing on a stairwell landing, to catch her breath and calm herself enough to see down the stairs.

She made it to her car and sank into the driver's seat and let the tears go, let herself smother in the pain of Aaron's rejection, in the hopelessness that was taking over her mind. How could she raise a baby by herself? How was she going to finish school while raising a baby? She didn't understand anything that was happening, her life had just turned upside down and she had no idea what she was going to do. Finally her tears abated enough for her to call her mother, Molly was sure her mother would be able to tell her what to do. One thing was for sure, Aaron wanted nothing to do with her or her baby, and she would do everything she could to facilitate that. He didn't deserve her or their baby, especially after his behavior tonight.

**There it is, Molly and Aaron's relationship in a tiny little nutshell that I'm not really happy with…maybe I'll go into more detail on other aspects of their relationship later…anyway, review and tell me if it was okay!**


End file.

Walking Dead, Romance